Can you feel it? Does it whisper to you in the quiet parts of your soul?
Those of us paying attention to all that brings forth life can see that a Great Dying is occurring before our eyes. Birds who will never give birth to young because all their habitats have been destroyed. Fish who no longer swim because the rivers are dead. Frogs whose chirping will never be heard again as they go silent in the night. Splendid shapes and colors of beetles gone forever – never to be admired by adoring eyes. And humans who lie restless in the darkness knowing that we may be next in line.
And yet… quiet dreams lurk in these dark places. Whispers of words too painful to be said. For what if they might come true? Rivers brought back to life. Soils restored. A Great Emergence of Flourishing – and Belonging. Oh, the sweetness of belonging. Coming home to find that life endures.
Can you feel that too?
We are the regenerators of the Earth, awakening to the most sacred work humanity has ever been called upon to do.
It is time to begin.
On December 14th of the year 2019, I began writing the preface for my first book, The Design Pathway for Regenerating Earth. My heart poured out a flood of knowledge gathered over the span of more than twenty years. Words burst onto the page. Fourteen days later, I had completed the first sixteen chapters. The gates had opened wide and nothing could stop the words from flowing onto the page.
Two things quickly became clear. First, that the book did not belong to me. I had so many teachers. Almost all of the ideas came from them. I had to give it away in the spirit of the gift that had sent such bounty to me prior to putting my own words to the page. And second, there was no time to wait for a publisher. The theme was how to safeguard humanity's future in the midst of planetary collapse. I needed to give it away without delay.
And so, on the 30th of December I invited everyone who followed me on social media to join a free study group. It would be a gathering place to discuss the chapters of my book. The name that emerged for the group was Earth Regenerators.
Soon, we were up and running. I gave free weekly webinars, hosted discussion topics, and gifted The Design Pathway to the world. Within a few months, there were two thousand members. Later the number would grow to thousands more. Word was getting out. A global pandemic helped, of course; but I suspect it was something more profound.
People all over the world had quiet dreams lurking in the hidden places of their souls. Somehow they knew that almost all environmental solutions on the table were a sham. Deeper transformation would be necessary. And they couldn't make the journey on their own. I found myself holding discussions about cultural scaffolding, social supports, and how to create prosocial groups and become wise managers of cultural evolution, all grounded in the real-world projects in which my family was involved.
This book draws upon all that I have learned in the six years since The Design Pathway came into being, how lives truly have been transformed, and what it feels like to walk the talk of regenerating the Earth. I have been deeply and profoundly changed. This is all really happening. And if you are reading these words, it is likely that you are about to be transformed, too.
What I have learned will be shared in the pages ahead. To begin, I will state clearly that this is not a treatise on how to create utopias. We will not try to miraculously transform the fundamentally doomed into a bouquet of flowers. Real loss is unavoidable. Death and grieving are here to stay. We must come to a place of acceptance about the depth and seriousness of planetary collapse as part of our initiation. Only then can we let go of that which cannot be saved… and free our hearts to love what might still be born with our caring hands.
Let us dispel a few myths right from the start. Technology alone cannot save us. The human population is too large and will soon plummet. Many existing species will still go extinct. And it is true that humans could be among those who go away. We must evolve or die. And evolution is not properly taught in most schools. We are flying blind in a turbulent storm with dangers all around.
It is from this place that authentic hope can be found. For it is here that we can embrace the reality that humans are ecological beings. We are brethren with all living creatures on Earth. The laws of physics, chemistry, and biology apply equally to us as they do to any other living being. And so we must find our way into ecological patterns of living if we too are going to survive.
A deeper question that haunts our path is whether or not humans should stick around. I invite you to sit with this in earnest because the regeneration of Earth will not be an easy path. Only those who truly believe in the worth of humans will devote themselves to what must be done. And this devotion will need to be grounded in a belief that we have something that should be carried through the desert of post-collapse and planted in degraded soils where lands have previously been destroyed.
Do you have what takes to become an Earth Regenerator? It is okay if you don't know the answer to this question – because the only way to find out is to live out the consequences of becoming one. I had to walk away from the human drama of daily life to find my way back into the land. It was astonishing how small the numbers are of people who are able or willing to walk this path. There is loneliness along the way. Only true devotees will do what is required.
I have seen marriages dissolve when one partner sees collapse for what it is and the other remains in delusion or denial. Families have broken apart. Financial risks are everywhere for those who step away from the rapacious economy that is destroying life's fabric at a planetary scale. And yet the reward is a life filled with purpose and authenticity that cannot be bought from an online store. Hope becomes real again as the fruits of effort grounded in place.
It turns out that the modern world is so shallow and superficial that what is lost is secretly the path to all that might truly be gained. For we did not thrive in the soulless world of corporate jobs and streaming online videos. Our relationships were just as much a sham as the quick fixes offered to quell our fears so that we might mindlessly consume once more. The Great Lie of Modernity is that separation or extraction could ever bring fulfillment. Prostitution is no replacement for love. A shiny gadget does not sustain the need for belonging. And to ignore the roots of our existence as children of Mother Earth merely empties us even more.
All who are born into civilization are lost children of the world. For ninety-nine percent of human history, our ancestors were native to a specific place. All humans are the descendants of Indigenous tribes who were so deeply integrated into local landscapes that they always knew where they belonged. To ask "where am I from?" is to be descended from conquered peoples. It is a clear sign that we have lost our way because we do not have an embedded cultural context that already tells us who we are.
As you might be suspecting, the purpose of this introduction is to turn off most readers. I only want to speak with those who are serious about walking the path of Earth regeneration. My time is precious, and I care more for conversations that matter than being popular or making a profit from book sales. My purpose here is to engage the ready and filter out the rest. For our work is urgent and we have no time to waste.
If you don't already know me, you will soon learn that I am a man of action. These words are being written as I travel to meet with communities, share freely all that I know, and act in service to life in all landscapes that receive me. My child is growing up within the pathway of planetary restoration. My partner is a fellow traveler doing her part to heal traumas and help actions flow.
My upbringing was on an industrial chicken farm in Missouri. I come from people who talk straight and do what they say. My integrity is visible in the callouses on my hands and the way my daughter sees that she is loved. Trees grown from seeds I gathered can be found beside retention ponds I have dug with pickaxe and shovel. Sweat stains can be found on my clothes. Honesty matters more to me than kindness, while knowing that compassion is a two-way street where sometimes being kind to myself will appear rude to another.
Grit matters. Real impacts are needed. And this means discernment in ways that are sometimes messy to behold. I was once asked how I could hold so much wisdom and still appear so ungraceful at times. My response was that my spiritual path is authenticity and the real world is just plain messy sometimes. Why pretend to be graceful to maintain appearances? We are in planetary collapse after all. A little messiness is required.
Are you still here? Do you think you might have what it takes to become an Earth Regenerator? Let us continue walking this path together and find out.
This is the first installment of a serialization of Joe Brewer's upcoming book When Earth Speaks. Join the Design School for Regenerating Earth to be part of a special accompanying webinar program, starting in October 2025, exploring each chapter of the book in depth.
